(July 14, 2008) -- Speaking at a July 12 reelection fundraiser for state Senator Jenny Oropeza (D., southbay), former LB Harbor Commissioner/former Vice Chair of the Dem Nat'l Committee Carmen Perez told a crowd filled with prominent Dems and non-partisan public officials:

"I'm not going to be satisfied until I call her a Congresswoman," and underscored her seriousness by adding "I'm not shy about that."

Addressing roughly 200 of Senator Oropeza's political supporters, friends and family in the Stadium Club atop the Home Depot Center in Carson, Ms. Perez continued:

"I called her [Sen. Oropeza] and said 'keep every, every piece of information in the newspapers; put it away, put it away.' Yes, she's got a job to do; she'll do that job and she'll do it very very nice, but the time will come when I hope I can call on everybody in here and say we've got another race."

In June 2007, Sen. Oropeza (who'd never lost an election and was endorsed by the CA Democratic Party) finished second to Assemblywoman Laura Richardson (D., Carson-LB) in a bid to fill the 37th district Congressional seat left vacant by the death of Cong. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D., Carson-LB).

Sen. Oropeza told the crowd that she'd "learned a lot from [that election]...We do learn a lot not only from our successes but those times when we stumble...I'm grateful for all those experiences."

Sen. Oropeza's fundraiser was attended by multiple public figures, among them (not a complete list): LB Harbor Commissioner Mario Cordero and spouse Gloria Cordero of the LB-based public affairs firm ABC Consulting; LB Dept. of Health & Human Services Director Ron Arias and spouse; Assemblymembers Betty Karnette (D., LB) and Warren Furutani (D., Carson-LB) and Carson Mayor Jim Dear.

Also present were members of Sen. Oropeza's family, ncluding her mother, Sharon, who was at her side throughout the bruising 2007 Congressional campaign.

Prominent among the attendees was Senator Darrell Steinberg (D., Sacramento)...who commencing in 2009 will be Senate President Pro Tem...with the power to (among other things) make committee appointments and name Committee chairs. He said said of Senator Oropeza:

Jenny, you are not only a champion for young people, you're a champion of the environment, and maybe most important and personal, you are the legislature's foremost champion for the proposition that we can and must cure cancer...I am so proud to be your friend and your colleague and to know that you are going to be right there with me over the six challenging years of incredible opportunity and we're going to do great things together...To all of your supporters here today...you have a treasure in Jenny Oropeza. You have a treasure in this public servant. So please, the only thing I ask is that you save me a speaking role on the program twenty years from now when we celebrate Jenny's 40th year in public service. (applause)

Sen. Oropeza said she's excited "that I'm going to be right there with him [incoming Pro Tem Sen. Steinberg] to make all these great things happen for our state."

And at the conclusion remarks in which she credited her mother and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (D., NY) as dual inspirations in her twenty year career in public office, Sen. Oropeza received a standing ovation.